The Strathcona Standard

2026-01-22: A wood chip plant in Beaver Cove near Port McNeill has closed because it no longer has a customer for its product. 

Workers at the Atli Chip plant, owned by the ‘Namgis First Nation, found out this week they are out of work. The plant, which provided wood chips for the mill in Crofton, no longer has a customer after the Crofton facility announced just before Christmas it was shutting down permanently. 

Mill owner Domtar says the Crofton closure was largely because of declining pulp prices and limited access to affordable timber to process. 

“These job losses and this mill closure are a direct result of the NDP’s failed policies,” said North Island MP Aaron Gunn in a statement on social media. “The chip plant was producing chips for the recently closed Crofton Pulp Mill – now that the pulp mill is gone, forced into closure by NDP permitting delays and fibre restrictions, the chip plant had no option but to shut down.”

Less than six months ago, the Atli plant was heralded by BC forestry Minister Ravi Parmar as an example of how forestry should be done in the province, calling it “A strong partnership” between industry and the ‘Namgis First Nation.  

“They take wood residue and generate usable product for our pulp & paper mills, creating more jobs per log harvested,” he said after touring the facility in July, 2025. “This makes for a more sustainable sector.”

Parmar has not offered any comments or statements yet about the Atli closure.